A Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has struck out a suit seeking the release of the forensic audit report on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
NOP NIGERIA reports that the case was instituted by Paul Arochukwu Ogbonna and another applicant on behalf of Social Action against the Attorney General of the Federation.
The plaintiffs had approached the court in 2022 following the failure of the then Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to make the audit report public.
They asked the court to compel the disclosure of the document in line with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.
Following the dissolution of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs by President Bola Tinubu, the claimants amended their suit to reflect the development.
The Attorney General of the Federation was subsequently joined as a defendant in the matter.
Delivering judgment, Justice Turaki Mohammed struck out the suit, citing procedural grounds.
The court held that the case was originally filed against an agency that no longer exists.
Reacting to the ruling, counsel to the plaintiffs, Victor Nweke, expressed dissatisfaction, stating that the legal team would take further steps.
He said, “We are not satisfied because we will come back. The matter was not dismissed; it was merely struck out.”
Nweke added, “We still have the power. The court has the requisite jurisdiction to equally entertain the matter again.”
The lawyer disclosed that the plaintiffs would refile the case to pursue access to the audit report.
“So, we are going to file the suit again and that information the government has refused to give to us must be given because the Freedom of Information Act 2011, made it explicitly clear that citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are entitled to any document that is in the custody of any public office in Nigeria,” he said.
One of the plaintiffs, Ogbonna, also maintained that the legal action forms part of a broader anti-corruption effort.
He insisted that Nigerians have the right to access the forensic audit report, stressing the need for transparency and accountability in public institutions.
